Manufacture of shoes



22, 1944- c. K. WOODMAN 2,342,! 76

MANUFACTUREOF SHOES Filed March 18,1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 22, 1944.- c. K wo'oDMAN' 2,342,176 4 MANUFACTURIE 0F SHOES "Filed March 18, 1942 z Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 22, 1944 MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Charles K. Woodman, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 18, 1942, Serial No. 435,221

18 Claims.

This invention relates to shoes and methods by which they are manufactured, it being more particularly concerned with the formation of the heel-ends of shoes. The usual practice; in preparing a shoe for the reception of a heel and in attaching such heel by outside nailing, is, after joining the outsole to the forepartof the lasted shoe, to connect the heel-end of the outsole to the heel-seat elements by driving'nails or other fastenings, this being followed by the attachment of a base by nails inserted through said base into the heel-seat, a rubber lift being finally nailed upon the base. It is an object of my invention to simplify this procedure and to gain greater security of attachment of the heel-end portions.

I achieve the above object by applying to the outsole of a shoe, attached only at the forepart, a heel-base, driving through the base, the loose heel-end of the outsole, and the insole and associated elements of the heel-seat, a group of one or more nails, each having a portion, as a collar, projecting between opposite shanks and bearing upon the tread-end of the base, said nails at one side of the bearing-portion being clinched upon the insole and at the pposite side projecting outside the tread-end of the base, and applying to the projecting ends a heel-lift. Thus, a single group of nails not only secures the heel-seat, the heel-base and its lift, but the base and heel-seat elements are clamped between the collars and the clinched ends of the nails, to be drawnfirmly together with the consequent production of .a'

tight crease. To retain the lift in place upon the base, the projecting ends of the nails are formed to engage it, as by swaging these ends, or other wise enlarging them, for engagement with Wash ers or like reinforcing means commonly included in such elastic heels as those of rubber. Independently of the simultaneous nailing of the. heelseat and heel-base, my invention provides for the convenient and secure retention of a heel-portion upon a fastening projecting from a shoe, by bringing said heel-portion and fastening together and forming the fastening to retain the heel-portion in place. This formation may .be effected by a tool which acts to produce a flange or enlargemerit, and this enlargement may engage the outer face of the reinforcement within the lift. Liftsof rubber or the like usually have depressions, there being washers surrounded by the material and registering with the depressions. Through the openings in the washers the fasten-ings pass, and their flanges engage the outer washer-surfaces.

The accompanying drawings show means by which my improved method may be performed, and the novel heel-end of the shoe produced,

Fig. 1 being a broken front elevation of an apparatus by which the heel-seat.- and base-attaching nails may be inserted;

Fig. 2, a similar fragmentary view of an apparatus adapted for the attachment of a lift to the base;

Fig. 3 shows in broken perspective the heelportion of .a shoe after the operation performed by the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4, a like view of the shoe, following the operation of the apparatus of Fig. 2; I

Fig. 5, an enlarged sectional detail illustrating the swaging operation performed by the apparatus of Fig. 2; While Y Fig. 6 shows, in side elevation, a nail which may be employed in carrying out the invention.

The first steps of my improved method, for production of the shoe of this invention, may be carried out with the aid .of such an a paratus A, as is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. This, as to its general character, may be the wellknown lightning heeler, it having a frame 10, upon which a jack i2 is movable between workreceiving and operating positions. Upon. the

frame above the jack a nailing die 14 is mounted,

this having throughv it vertical passages l6, arranged in accordance with the inserting design of the attaching nails or other fastenings. At each side of the die there reciprocates in the frame a vertical rod l8, these two rods being driven through an unillustrated crosshead joining' their lower portions, and having bridged between their upper extremities a top-girt 20. Carried at the underside of the top-girt is a plate 22, having depending from'it the fastening drivers 24, corresponding in number to and registering with the die-passages l6. These drivers differ from those usually employed, in that they are of greater diameter and are provided with axial passages 26 opening through their lower ends,

into each of which passages the free lower end of a leaf-spring 28 projects, the upper end being secured to the driver. Each of the driver-passages is adapted to receive the shank 30 of a nail N, this being retained in the" driver by the spring 28. This nail is of the collar-type, it having the shank 30 and a shank 3-2 projecting oppositely from an intermediate enlargement or collar 34. The shank 32 is longer than the companion shank, and its extremity. 36 is of less diameter to facilitate clinching.-

A shoe-upper U with its insole s assembled upon a last L, and with anou-tsole S attached to the insole and upper at the forepart but with the heel-end left loose, is applied to the jack l2 of the apparatus A. The drivers 24 of said apparatus are loaded with the nails N, the collars 3d of which rest against the driver-ends, while the shanks 32 depend therefrom. A heel-base H with its rand h is positioned upon the heel-seat of the shoe, and the jack elevated by the pressure mechanism of the heeler, so the'tread-end of the base is urged against the underside of the die H3. The side-rods I 8 then draw down the topgirt, and the drivers, passing through the diepassages l6, insert the shanks 32 of all the nails through the base, the outsole and the insole. The reduced points 38 of the nails, striking the usual last-plate l, are deflected outwardlyand upwardly by the curvature of the plate, being clinched in the insole, as appears in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. By this single operation, the elements of the heel-seat are secured to one another, and

the base attached to said heel-seat. As to the latter action, the collar 34 ofeach of the nails N is pressed against the tread-end of the heelbase, as the nail-points 35 are being clinched upon the last-plate. The heel-portions of the shoe are thus clamped positively between the spaced lateral extensions of the nails to give not only firm retention, but also to so force together the outsole and the lasted-over upper as to produce a tight crease and likewise to so act upon meeting surfaces of the base, rand and outsole as to guard against checking.

By the operation just described, the shanks 30 ofthe nails N are left projecting from the tread-end of the heel-base H. Upon these ends may be pressed a leather or other 'rigidtop-lift, in which there may have been drilled passages corresponding in arrangement to that of the nails. There will, however, be here more particularly considered the attachment of a rubber or like elastic lift R, such as is illustrated in Figs. 2, 4, and of the drawings. This lift has reinforcing means, shown as consisting of washers to molded into the body of the lift, their openings preferably registering with depressions l2 extending inwardly from the tread-surface of the lift. The washers and depressions have the same arrangement as the inserted nails N. The lasted upper U with the attached'base His placed upon the jack of a heeler B' (Fig. 2), which may be similar to the heeler A, or this same apparatus A may be converted to perform the present operation. In either case, there will be, supported at the underside of the die 84 a plate 4d, carrying swaging projections or tools 43 corresponding to the depressions 42 and the washeropenings of the rubber lift. Each of the tools is tubular, the lower portion 48 of the passage tapering upwardly and outwardly to furnish clearance. The opening through the end of the passage is of less diameter than the nail-shank 39. With the lift-depressions and washer-openings registeringwith the tools 46, the apparatus 13 is operated to elevate the jack i2 through a predetermined distance. This travel is sufficient to carry the lift-depressions around and along the nail-shanks to bring the washers into proximity with the ends of the tools. During this movement, each tool, receiving within it one of the shanks, swages thereon a flange or enlargement 5D, and presses thisagainst the washer. The lift R is thus urged into close contact with the tread-end of the heel-base H and held securely by the, engagement of the molded-in washers with the shank-enlargements. The latter are integral parts of the nails N, which are fixed against displacement by the ends 36 clinched in the heel-seat.

It will be seen that, by the method of this invention, there is expeditiously produced by simple operations a novel heel-formation of a shoe, the parts of which are closely joined for good appearance and in a manner offering great I resistance to separation in wear.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of securing the heel-portions of shoes, which consists in applying a heel-base to an outsole attached to the upper and insole at the forepart of a shoe but loose at the heel-end, driving through the base, outsole and insole a group of nails each having a portion bearing upon the tread-end of the base, said nails at one side of the bearing portion being clinched upon the insole and at the opposite side projecting outside the tread-end of the base. and applying to the projecting ends of the nails 2. heel-lift.

'2. The method of securing the heel-portionsof shoes, which consists in applying a heel-base to an outsole attached to the upper and insole at the forepart of a shoe but loose at the heel-end, driving through the base, outsole and insole the shanks at one end of a group of collar-nails, with the collars resting against the tread-end of the base and shanks clinched upon the insole, the opposite shanks of the nails projecting from the collars outside the tread-end of the base, and forcing upon said opposite shanks a heel-lift.

3. The method of securing the heel-portions of shoes, which consists in applying a heel-base to an outsole attached to the upper and insole at the forepart of a shoe but loose at the heel-end, driving throughthe base, outsole and insole a group of nails each having a portion bearing upon the tread-end of the base, said nails at one side of the bearing portion being clinched upon the insole and at the opposite side projecting outside the tread-end of the base, applying to the projecting ends of the nails a heel-lift, and forming the projecting ends of the nails to retain the lift in place.

4. The method of securing the heel-portions of shoes which consists in applying a heel-base to an outsole attached to the upper and insole at the forepart of a shoe but loose at the heelend, driving through the base, outsole and insole a group of nails each having a portion bearing upon the thread-end of the base, said nails at one side of the bearing portion being clinched upon the insole and at the opposite side projecting outside the tread-end ofthe base, applying to the projecting ends of the nails'an elastic heel-lift containing reinforcing means, and enlarging such ends for engagement with the reinforcing means.

5. The method of securing the heel-portions of shoes, which consists in applying a heel-base to an outsole attached to the upper and insole said projecting ends, and swaging such ends over the washers.

6. The method of attaching heel-portions of shoes, consisting in inserting a fastening in a shoe, thereafter bringing together a heel-portion and the inserted fastening, and forming said fastening to retain the heel-portion in place.

7. The method of attaching heel-portions of shoes, consisting in inserting a fastening in a shoe, thereafter bringing together a heel-portion and the inserted fastening, and forming upon said fastening a flange surrounding it and engaging the heel-portion.

8. The method of attaching heel-portions of shoes, consisting in inserting a fastening in a shoe, thereafter bringing together a heel-portion and the inserted fastening, and forcing together the fastening and a tool to swage said fastening into retaining engagement with the heel-portion.

9. The method of attaching heel-portions of shoes, consisting in inserting a fastening in a shoe, thereafter bringing together a heel-portion and the inserted fastening, and forcing together the fastening and a tool by their relative movement through a predetermined distance to swage said fastening into retaining engagement with the heel-portion.

10. The method of attaching to shoes having fastenings projecting from their heel-ends elastic heel-portions containing reinforcements, which consists in applying to the projecting fastenings a heel, pressing together the shoe and heel so the fastenings pass through the reinforcements, and enlarging the fastenings into engagement with the outer faces of the reinforcements.

11. The method of attaching to shoes having fastenings projecting from their heel-ends elastic heel-portions containing washers, which consists in applying to the projecting fastenings a heel, pressing together the shoe and heel so the fastenings pass through the openings in the washers, and swaging the fastenings over the respective washers.

12. A shoe comprising an upper with its insole and with an outsole attached at the foreprojecting outwardly from the base, and a heellift held upon the base by the projecting shanks.

13. A shoe comprising an upper with its insole and with an outsole attached at the forepart, a heel-base contacting with the outsole at the heel-seat, nails provided with enlargements from which extend opposite shanks, each nail having its enlargement seated upon the treadend of the base, one of the shanks passing through said base and the heel-seat and being clinched upon the insole, the other shank projecting outwardly from the base, and a heel-lift into which the projecting shanks extend, there being flanges upon said shanks retaining the lift against displacement.

14. A shoe having fastenings projecting from its heel-seat, and a heel-portion having reinforcing means through which the projecting fastenings extend, there being flanges upon the fastenings engaging the outer side of the reinforcing means.

15. A shoe having fastenings projecting from its heel-seat and a heel-portion of elastic material having depressions, there being washers surrounded by the elastic material and with their openings registering with tlwdepressions, the fastenings passing through the openings in the washers and having swaged flanges formed about said fastenings at points removed from their outer ends and engaging the outer surfaces of said washers.

16. A shoe having a base attached to its heelseat, nails having collars seated upon the treadend of the base, and opposite shanks projecting from the collars into the base and outwardly therefrom, and a lift held against the tread-end of the base by enlargements formed upon the outwardly projecting shanks of the nails within the lift. 7

17. A shoe having a base attached to its heelseat, nails having collars seated upon the treadend of the base and opposite shanks projecting from the collars into thebase and outwardly therefrom, and a lift of elastic material containing washers through which the outwardly projecting shanks of the nails pass.

18. A shoe having a base attached to its heelseat, nails having collars seated upon the treadend of the base and opposite shanks projecting from the collars into the base and outwardly therefrom, and a lift of elastic material containing washers through which the outwardly projecting shanks 'of the nails pass, there being flanges formed upon said shanks outside the washers.

CHARLES K. WOODMAN. 

